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use a trowel to do sth
【名词】trowel 指泥铲、泥刀，常用于涂抹或舀取灰泥等材料。
Use a trowel to spread the plaster evenly.
用泥铲均匀地涂抹灰泥。
泥铲；泥刀
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
泥铲；泥刀
a small hand tool with a handle and a flat metal blade, used for scooping or spreading plaster or similar materials
Use a trowel to spread the plaster evenly.
用泥铲均匀地涂抹灰泥。
泥瓦匠用于涂抹灰浆、修整砖块的工具。
A mason’s tool, used in spreading and dressing mortar, and breaking bricks to shape them.
一种带手柄和扁平金属刀片的小型手工工具,用于舀取或涂抹灰泥或类似材料
a small hand tool with a handle and flat metal blade; used for scooping or spreading plaster or similar materials
园艺工具,形似铲子,用于移栽植物、翻土等。
A gardener’s tool, shaped like a scoop, used in taking up plants, stirring soil etc.
用于使模具平滑的工具。
A tool used for smoothing a mold.
He used a trowel to spread the cement smoothly over the bricks.
他用泥铲把水泥均匀地抹在砖上。
The gardener dug up the small plant with a trowel.
园丁用泥铲把那棵小植物挖了出来。
She bought a new trowel for her pottery class.
她为陶艺课买了一把新泥刀。
【名词】trowel 指泥铲、泥刀，常用于涂抹或舀取灰泥等材料。
Use a trowel to spread the plaster evenly.
用泥铲均匀地涂抹灰泥。
【动词】trowel 表示用泥铲涂抹，是及物动词，后接被涂抹的材料。
He trowelled the plaster.
他用泥铲涂抹灰泥。
Not this
Please hand me a towel to spread the mortar.
Use this
Please hand me a trowel to spread the mortar.
towel 意为“毛巾”，trowel 才是“泥铲”；两词仅差一个 r，注意拼写与含义，避免混淆。
Not this
Yesterday he trowel the plaster onto the wall.
Use this
Yesterday he troweled the plaster onto the wall.
trowel 作动词时，过去式应加 -ed（troweled/trowelled），表示过去完成的动作，不能直接用原形。
Not this
The masons need three trowel for the job.
Use this
The masons need three trowels for the job.
trowel 是可数名词，复数形式为 trowels；数量超过一时须加 -s，不能省略。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
园艺小铲
She used a garden trowel to plant the tulip bulbs.
她用园艺小铲种郁金香球茎。
抹灰泥刀
He smoothed the wall with a plasterer's trowel.
他用抹灰泥刀把墙面抹平。
带槽口的泥刀
Use a notched trowel to spread the adhesive evenly.
用带槽口的泥刀均匀地涂抹粘合剂。
用泥刀抹上
Trowel on the plaster before it dries.
在灰泥变干之前用泥刀把它抹上。
瓦工泥刀
A bricklayer's trowel has a pointed blade.
瓦工泥刀有一个尖头刀片。
过分恭维；夸大其词
He laid it on with a trowel when he said that was my best report yet.
他说那是我迄今为止最好的报告，真是过分恭维了。
Use trowel naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
记法：towel 加个 r 就是 trowel——毛巾擦汗，泥铲抹泥。
语域：neutral 常见场景：construction、masonry、plastering、gardening 该词作名词和动词时均使用中性语体，多用于建筑、抹灰和园艺等具体操作场景；日常口语中用得较少，属于行业常用说法。
动词的现在分词、过去式和过去分词也可拼作 troweling / troweled。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.